It was a golden night for three Canyons District students at the 2016 Sterling Scholar Awards.

A Hillcrest Husky and two Corner Canyon Chargers walked away big winners at the yearly academic-excellence program sponsored by the Deseret News and KSL Broadcast Group.

Hillcrest High’s Anthony Cheng was announced as the top mathematician – and the overall general scholar – in the 54th annual competition, and Corner Canyon High’s Sadie Chidester and Camden Seeborg won in the Skilled and Technical Sciences and World Languages categories, respectively.

Three other Canyons students also earned honors in their categories. Helen Schroder, a senior at Hillcrest High, was announced as a runner-up in English; Jared Sagae, a Corner Canyon Charger, was a runner-up in Business and Marketing; and Hillcrest’s Alexandra Palmer was a runner-up in vocal performance.

A whopping 22 CSD students hailing from all five of the District’s traditional high schools were named as finalists in this year’s Sterling Scholar Award competition. Students vying for recognition in the contest were judged on their academic achievements as well as their leadership and service efforts.

Awards are given in 14 categories – English, mathematics, social science, science, world languages, computer technology, skilled and technical sciences education, family and consumer sciences, business and marketing, speech/theater arts/forensics, visual arts, dance, instrumental music and vocal performance.

More than 1,000 nominees from 80 schools participated in this year’s Sterling Scholar Awards Program. Each category winner receives a scholarship. Fifteen universities, colleges and business and technical schools also provide scholarships to winners and runners up.

Photo courtesy Ravell Call/Deseret News